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Freedom to Experiment

If you don’t have the freedom to fail, you don’t have the freedom to experiment!

Here’s some successful business math:

  • Freedom to fail = the freedom to experiment.
  • Freedom to experiment = imagining what could be different.
  • Imagining what could be different = keeping up with the pace of business.
  • Keeping up with the pace of business = successful business!

The false belief: freedom to experiment endorses mistakes.

And what does that all mean?

Making a mistake is not the problem; it’s what you do afterward that really counts.

Effective leaders encourage their teams to courageously experiment; to thoughtfully exercise discipline; to consciously reflect on lessons learned and to efficiently adapt to changing conditions.

Life itself is a process of trial and error.

People learn from taking action, from the miscues they make, and from the feedback they receive.

We all make mistakes. Every one of us. If we aren’t making mistakes, then we likely aren’t trying enough new things outside our comfort zone, and that itself is a mistake. That process is the best way to learn and grow.

Effective leaders allow their people the freedom to make mistakes. And good employees are those who when mistakes are made—they learn from them, they own them, they fix them and they put safeguards in place to ensure the same mistake will never be repeated.

Good people make mistakes. Effective leaders allow them to.

Do you foster an environment that gives your team the freedom to experiment?

Want to discuss ways you can cultivate this culture in your business? Contact me.